Best and cheapest mango bagging materials developed

Bagging of mango fruits is a well-known practice, but information is lacking on its effects on the external/internal characteristics of the fruits, the appropriate bagging materials, and the economics of its adoption.

Thus, a researcher at the Bureau of Plant Industry-National Mango Research and Development Center (BPI-NMRDC) evaluated the different kinds of bagging materials for mango fruits.

The bagging materials used were brown paper bag; thin, waxy magazine; thick, waxy magazine; yellow page telephone directory; imported newspaper; and local newspaper with lorsban-impregnated plastic strips.

The findings are as follows:

• Bagging with different paper materials resulted in fruits with lower insect and disease damage and minimized fruit quality defects.

Thick, waxy magazine significantly prevented fruit fly damage with infestation ranging from zero to less than one percent.

• Bagged and unbagged fruits were not siginificantly different in their external (except in peel color at harvest) and internal qualities.

• Imported newspaper, thick and thin, waxy magazine were the most promising and economical bagging materials for mango in all seasons.

However, source and availability of these materials need to be considered.

Brown paper bags and local newspapers are recommended only during dry season since these materials are easily destroyed during rainy days. — BPG